Balkan Bites founders Alida and Ariana are on a mission to bring a taste of the Balkans to NYC.
Alida was working as a journalist in Kosovo until political unrest drove her to immigrate to the United States in 1991. When she landed in New York, she decided to turn her passion for cooking into a full time career. She attended the International Culinary Center and became a pastry chef. Although Ariana was born in the United States, she grew up with strong ties to her Balkan roots. She devoured burek at bakeries during her visits to Croatia and Kosovo and she yearned to make the pastry more accessible in the US. Years later, Ariana and her aunt, Alida, teamed up to make her dream a reality and Balkan Bites was born.

The Balkans is a geographic area in Southeast Europe with various definitions. Balkan cuisine can be found in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. The term “Balkans” sometimes has negative connotations associated with the region’s history of ethnic divisiveness and political upheaval. The distinct identity and fragmentation of the Balkans owes much to its common history regarding centuries of Ottoman conquest and to its very mountainous geography. Despite its turbulent past, The Balkans are home to some of the most hospitable people around. Hosts will typically serve guests copious amounts of traditional food and homemade fruit brandy known as raki or rakija. In this fragmented land, it is food and drink that bring people together.

#howto#cook#banitsa
1: 5 eggs
2: yogurt, Bulgarian, 400 g
3: milk, 1 t.cup
4: Bulgarian cheese(feta style), 300 g
5: Pastry sheets
Mix everything with a fork(excluding the sheets). Use a baking tray, sip some veg oil on the bottom, spread it. Add a layer of sheets, cover them with 5 spoons of the mixture, randomly. Sheets, oil, mixture. Repeat, until the tray is full, finish with sheets. Cut in squares with a sharp knife. Bake in the oven, until golden brown. Cover with a cloth for 10 mins, when it is ready and out of the oven. Turn the oven of. Enjoy